The Way You Make Me Feel
by Tea Diva
Summary: Zack asks Jeanette to come with him to Sector 5 so she can meet a very special somebody. One shot set during my 'Behind Blue Eyes' series.


Jeanette descended the stairs and headed for the exit, calling her farewells to those she knew. She paused briefly, reaching into her bag to withdraw her phone to check her messages. At seeing a missed call from her mother she flipped it open, intent on contacting her when an excited voice spoke her name. She jumped, then laughed at seeing the culprit. "Zack," she chided, shaking her head as the young man nearly skidded to a halt before her, "didn't your mother ever teach you it's bad manners to yell across rooms?"

"Not really," he responded, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth. "She was always yelling for me when I was a kid." He took hold of her forearm excitedly, reminding her of an over-exuberant puppy. "You live in Sector 5 right? Can you come with me to the slums? There's someone I want you to meet."

Jeanette smiled knowingly. "Another of your fans? Honestly, Zack, I think half the Second and Third Class SOLDIERs idolize you."

"Can you blame them?" he answered a little too readily, and she had to laugh. But his cocky expression changed, the sudden warmth in his eyes gaining her notice. "Please?" he requested. "Oh, I know you're probably going to see Sephiroth. He can wait," he added dismissively.

Jeanette chuckled. "I'll be sure to let him know that," she drawled good-naturedly, and Zack quickly waved off the notion with fluttering hands.

The two exited the building, Zack oddly close-lipped as they made their way across the Fountain Plaza and up the stairs toward the Sector 1 platform. The train had yet to arrive, and, after taking a seat on a bench, Jeanette looked to Zack. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded and gaze fixed on nothing at all. Children raced past, calling to one another as they played. When a little boy waved to Zack she smiled. "You spend a lot of time here?"

"Yeah," he replied, smiling. He appeared contemplative, an expression new in Jeanette's experience of him. She found it endearing. "Hey, Jeannie," he said at last, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, looking for all the world like a tongue-tied schoolboy, "what does Sephiroth do to you? Aside from the obvious," he tacked on, and she felt her cheeks flush at his insinuation. "I mean, how does he make you feel?"

Jeanette's smile softened. "Happy, of course," she admitted. One hand touched her heart, which beat double time, as always, whenever she thought of him. "Sometimes I still get a little weak kneed when he smiles at me."

"Uh huh," Zack agreed, his own smile soft, wistful. "Like, whenever you're with her, everything is perfect. There's nothing wrong with the world."

Jeanette gazed up at him, unable to keep her smile from turning into a grin. "Why, Zack," she murmured, "could it be that one of Shinra's best First Class SOLDIERs is in love?"

"What?" he exclaimed, shocked out of whatever reverie his words brought on. "Hey!" he protested as she chuckled. "You're one to talk! There isn't a guy on the SOLDIER floor who doesn't think what happened between you and Sephiroth is amazing."

She blushed, not about to contest the truth. Ever since they made their attachment public, the queries about her relationship had been endless. "Tell me about how you met her," she requested.

Zack plopped down beside her, straddled the bench and leaned forward. "It was after that one mission at the Sector 5 Reactor- you remember, right? Sephiroth had gone with me." She nodded, and he continued. "Anyways, I went through the floor and landed on a flower bed. I guess," he added, somewhat sheepishly, "I literally fell into her life."

Jeanette smiled. "So that's where you were. I had heard you went missing for a while after that."

"Tseng ended up finding me," Zack groused, and Jeanette laughed. But his irrepressible spirits shone in his eyes, and he beamed. "I didn't spend that much time with her, but I tell you, Jeannie, something, I don't know, _happened _to me." He sighed and shook his head, as if still in disbelief. Jeanette could very well relate. "I just want to make her smile all the time. I want to show her everything I've seen." Zack gave her a helpless grin. "Pretty silly, huh?"

"You know better than that," she countered, reaching for his hands and giving them a hearty squeeze. "Sounds like you found someone really special. I'm very happy for you, Zack. I'd love to meet her."

"Great!" he enthused, shaking her hands with vigor. "Aerith will like you too." Suddenly he leaned forward, flashing her a grin. "Got any gil with you?"

Jeanette eyed him. "Yes," she answered, wary but curiously amused. "Why?"

"You're going to be her first customer," he proclaimed. "What's your favorite flower?"


End file.
